We at Southern Lakes Church believe marriage was created by God. Since He is the Designer, we look to Him for guidance in preparing for this life-long commitment. You will spend a lot of time preparing for this day and we want to help you enjoy your special day as well as help prepare you for your marriage. Below are answers to some questions you may have and the answers include our Wedding Guidelines.

Who may be married at our facility?
The covenant that a couple makes should not be taken lightly, but reverently and deliberately. Since our purpose is to establish Christian marriages in the context of a loving community, weddings at Southern Lakes Church are for devoted followers of Christ who have been regularly attending Southern Lakes Church for at least six months prior to their application to be married here.

Sexual abstinence before marriage is God’s design for each couple. Abstinence and living separately from each other prior to marriage not only honors God and your fiancé, but allows you to maintain the boundaries necessary to better develop your relationship. We would ask you as a couple to covenant with each other to abstain sexually throughout the pre-marriage period until you are married and to live separately from one another until your wedding.

Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as a covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, Southern Lakes Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the pastors and staff, whether paid or unpaid, of Southern Lakes EFC shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Finally, the facilities and property of Southern Lakes EFC shall only be used to host weddings between one man and one woman.

How do we arrange a wedding date?
Your first step in the Southern Lakes Church marriage process is to print and fill out the Wedding Application (found on our Forms page). On that form, you will have the opportunity to list a desired wedding date. Keep in mind that because of the nature of the church calendar, we can only schedule dates up to a year in advance, and that due to staff and facility commitments, weddings may not be possible on or around certain holidays.

May we have our rehearsal dinner or wedding reception at Southern Lakes Church?
We do not offer the church building for the rehearsal dinner or wedding reception.

Do you have pre-marital counseling?All couples are required to attend pre-marital classes. This involves several meetings with the pastor who will be performing the ceremony. We believe there is great value in being prepared for this life-long commitment and look forward to working with you.

As part of the counseling process, some pastors require that every couple must complete a relationship evaluation called PREPARE/ENRICH. The PREPARE/ENRICH evaluation is administered online, and is designed to measure a couple’s relationship strengths and growth areas in several key categories. There is a $35 fee for this evaluation, payable online. It is from the PREPARE/ENRICH evaluation that much of the counseling material will come.

Will a wedding facilitator assist us?
Our wedding facilitators will help you with Southern Lakes Church wedding resources, rehearsal staging and your ceremony. You must use one of our facilitators who will provide access to the building as well as helpful information and service. Your facilitator will work closely with the pastoral staff member involved in your wedding. Once the assigned wedding facilitator is made aware of your upcoming wedding, they will contact you to begin discussing the details of your wedding ceremony.

What are the next steps?

Contact the church office at slefc@slefc.org to find out if the date you have chosen for your wedding is available on the church calendar as well as with the pastor.

Confirm availability of a wedding facilitator and sound technician, both are required.

Once the date has been confirmed, a $200 refundable deposit is required to hold the date on the church calendar.

Complete and send a SLEFC Church Use Agreement (found on our Forms page) with your deposit — for the remaining fees, please see wedding fees section below.

Once your wedding has been scheduled, a complete Wedding Guide will be sent to you that will provide more information to help you plan your special day.

What are the wedding fees?

A $200refundable deposit is required to hold the date on the church calendar

A $600fee is to be given to the church Office Administrator one month BEFORE the wedding and is subject to change. The $600 fee includes the following services:Pastor
Use of the church building
Sound Technician
Wedding Facilitator
Media Technician ($75 additional if needed)

If you have any questions, please contact our Office Administrator at slefc@slefc.org or by calling 262-742-2366 (x31).